Department of Energy calculates savings per eGallon

WASHINGTON, June 11 (UPI) -- The average fuel costs for an electric car is one third that of an average gas-powered car, the Energy Department said Tuesday.

On top of that, as the average price of gasoline and the average price for electricity varies around the country, the department has launched a Web page that calculates how much drivers in each state can save by driving an electrically powered car.

In Idaho, for example, the average cost for regular gasoline on Tuesday was listed as $3.73 per gallon. An eGallon, on the other hand, costs 84 cents, the department said.

The department is using an eGallon as a way to designate the amount of electricity it would take to power a car the same distances as a gallon of gasoline.

That means fuel costs for a gasoline powered car in Idaho on Tuesday on average cost 4.4 times more than fuel costs for an electrically-powered car.

The national average for a gallon of regular gasoline Tuesday was $3.65 while the national average price of an eGallon was $1.14.

Therefore, on average, an electrically powered car is 3.2 times less expensive to drive than a gasoline powered car in the United States.

Texas is close to the national average with regular gasoline averaging $3.37 per gallon and the equivalent power in electricity costing, on average, $1.09.

On the other hand, in Hawaii, regular gasoline averages $3.74 per gallon while an eGallon costs, on average, $3.69.

In New York, the average price of gasoline is $3.70 per gallon. But the cost of an eGallon on average is $1.80.

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